Our idea to stroll down last night didn't pan out, but thousands of people were there all night. By the time we went to the Memorial at 7:30am [the event was starting at 10am], it was a mob scene and we wound up about half-way down the reflecting pool.
The mood was very different from the Tea Party Rally last 9/12/09, much more reflective and directed towards personal action. One expression of that was the generous response to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The SOWF exists to provide support and a college education to the children of special ops soldiers who are killed or severely wounded in service to their country. Glenn Beck asked us one time to text "SOWF" to 85944. He came back on stage a little while later to announce that $3,000,000.00 had been raised since he made the request. Check the group out at http://www.specialops.org/ if you want to help honor those who give their lives on our behalf.
The whole event was a call to return to our founding principles, a personal relationship and worship of our Creator as the foundation of our liberty. 240 pastors stood on the steps of the monument, representing every denomination and faith. This was the kickoff event for a new "Black Robe Regiment", which was originally a group of pastors who came together during colonial times. From a website, "they understood that in order to have a great government, then you must have great citizens. The way that you have great citizens is by having great people that are rooted in the foundation of the Word of God." [http://www.truthinhistory.org/the-black-robed-regiment.html]
Glenn Beck recognized 3 individuals by awarding a Medal of Merit to each for their steadfast devotion to the 3 themes of Faith, Hope and Charity. The Faith award went to C.L. Jackson, civil rights activist and pastor of Pleasant Grove Mission Baptist Church in Texas for the past 45 years. The Hope award went to Albert Pujols for his extensive community service in both St. Louis and his home country of the Dominican Republic , and the Charity award went to John Huntsman, the billionaire philanthropist who has, among innumerable other charities, started many shelters for abused women and children and founded the Huntsman Cancer Institute
Though most of the speakers were Christians, the event glorified God rather than any doctrine. It was definitely apolitical, with several prayers, scripture readings and gospel music. We also sang the battle Hymn of the Republic, and near the end, the crowd came together to sing Amazing Grace. Trust me, you haven't heard that song sung, until you hear several hundred thousand voices lifted in one accord. It WAS amazing.
Today was only the beginning, a gathering of like-minded patriots who will now return to their communities with a fresh determination to honor God is every aspect of their lives, including their civic participation.
A sweet 'extra', the Lord led us to sit next to a lovely woman from Wilmington, and I look forward to connecting with her again when we get home.
Now I'm going to take a nap, and let the ideas and events of the day percolate a bit. I am grateful beyond measure to have been here today!
No comments:
Post a Comment